In aerial vehicles, fixed profile airfoils are typically employed having a design that is optimized for performance within a primary flight condition. These fixed profile airfoils are then sub-optimal in many other operating conditions that may include take-off, landing, maneuvering and dual-mode cruising velocities. Modern aircraft are required to maneuver efficiently over super-sonic and sub-sonic flight conditions. What is needed is a means for replacing or modifying the conventional fixed profile control surfaces of an aircraft with controlled reconfigurable surfaces, for which the profile of an airfoil can be adjusted on demand, to maintain optimal performance of a vehicle as flight conditions change. The present invention presents a solution to this problem by providing a novel, lightweight, massively parallel device comprising microfluidic actuators, to sense, control and reconfigure the profile of a surface.